TRP: Gwydion, Jonn, and Blue Wyn (Back Room)
Izzy: Skyport, day 209(?) A crow pecked on Gwydion's window. In the little metal cylinder tied to her leg, a scrolled note read: Job for you. Details at guildhouse. Report in. - MW Morgan Wyn waited in the main hall of the guildhouse, little blue pseudodragon laying across her shoulders as she sat at the long table at the end of the long hall where she'd recruited Gwydion. Another little blue dragon sat to one side of her -- Amren, looking twitchy and wild-eyed -- and on the other, a few chairs down, Jonn sat with his knees pulled up to his chest, looking away. "Right on time," Wyn said, and knocked back the last of a glass of mead. She stood and beckoned Gwydion forward. "C'mon, boys. We got shit to talk about in my office." She turned to the door behind the table, sauntering off. Amren followed her immediately; Jonn stood up but waited for Gwydion come up even with him, and raised up on his toes to throw his arms are Gwydion's neck and squeeze him tight for a long moment. Mink: Many of his days were spent on his own, reading or wandering Skyport.' '''It was a filthy city, unlike Alabaster with its gleaming white walls, but it gave him something to do between any job that Morgan Wyn sent his way.' The jobs were few and far-between so much of his time was finding ways to pass it. When the crow pecked at his window, he was readying himself for a walk. He still took that walk, but instead of wandering the market he walked to the guild house to meet Wyn. He glanced over Amren - the small Dragonborn jittery; he was a twitchy thing anytime he saw him - and Jonn, who was always pleasant sight and it had been a long whole since he had seen him. Gwydion shifted his staff in his hand to follow, but he was stopped when Jonn raised up to hug him. He arched an eyebrow and slipped an arm around the man's waist, holding him close. Hugs and touches were more and more common, and Gwydion enjoyed it far more than he could admit. He broke the hug with a flicker of a smile. "Enjoy time with Hansel?" he asked. Jonn had disappeared before he could on that trip. It was regretful; Hansel was the only Graverunner with a modicum of decency. '''Izzy: "Yeah," Jonn said quietly. "Sorry you didn't get to come." He fiddled with the edges of his cloak. Hansel would be upset if he knew what Jonn'd done. Gwydion was supposed to be his crew and that was important, but Hansel and Roddy were his family, and he'd thought the only way to help them was ... He slipped his hand into Gwydion's. He knew they had to follow Wyn into the back -- past Helena's office, into the back room -- but he didn't move. He'd done this, but he kept thinking maybe he could just ... drag Gwydion off, get him somewhere safe. Then Wyn might hurt Hansel, though, or Roddy, or Finch, or Luci or Goro or Mishka, even. There were too many people to punish Jonn with, and if it wasn't Gwydion it'd just be someone else, and then Gwydion too when she found him, and Jonn for betraying her, and that would hurt Hansel, and ... Mink: Gwydion waved off of the apology; it was fine.' '''Disappointing, but fine.' It was just a shame as he had had something to look forward to though, he thought, he had looked forward to having Jonn back. It was a discomfiting thought that made his heart squeeze and his stomach twist. He wrapped his fingers around Jonn's, enjoying the soft skin beneath his touch. He had missed it. He raised Jonn's hand when they didn't move, bringing the knuckles to place a gentle kiss on them. "You can tell me about it later," he said with a smile as he lowered their hands, keeping them intertwined. He did find himself loving this small moments. '''Izzy: Jonn laughed in a high-pitched, somewhat disconcerting way. "Yeah. I -- I will. I'll tell you about it later." God. Oh, god, this wasn't good. This felt really fucking bad. He tried to distract himself from it. "Dad, uh, really liked the flowers you sent." He still made no move to pull Gwydion forward. Wyn would probably yell at them to hurry it up, soon. She could yell if she wanted. Mink: His skin pricked as if a cold breeze had wafted through the room, Jonn's laugh sending an unwelcome shiver down his back. He glanced towards the door before back to Jonn.' '"Are you fine, little dove?" he asked, tone pitched softly to not carry.' '''Something felt off, and he didn't know what. '''Izzy:' "No," Jonn said, and didn't elaborate. Mink: Gwydion quirked an eyebrow. "Oh?' '''What's wrong?" '''Izzy:' Jonn shook his head and looked down. From the office, Wyn called, "Hey! Get in here, ya little lovebirds, I haven't got all fuckin' night." She laughed to herself. Made Jonn's stomach clench. Mink: Jonn closed up and Gwydion felt like sighing.' '''Instead he tucked a loose strand of hair behind Jonn's ear, released his hand, and shifted his staff into' his own. He glanced down to Jonn one more time before he led the way into the office. "Impatient, Wyn," he commented, waiting for Jonn to join them before he closed the door. It was only polite to do so, and he doubted Wyn would have wanted the door to be left open. '''Izzy: Jonn trailed behind him. He knew he wasn't going to get out of this. Wyn had changed Helena's office -- replaced her cluttered desk with a clean meeting table, three chair on either side of it. She'd sat down and kicked her feet up, and Amren was behind her and to the side, standing, still looking fucking touchy. He always had this charcoal smell to him, ever since he'd broken out of the Basha warehouse. Ever since he'd died, Jonn guessed, fucking up in flames. He didn't fucking like Amren, but that made his fingers fidget and his arm itch. He started to sit on the other side from them, but Wyn gestured for him to come around, and patted the chair next to her. He obeyed reluctantly. "There you are." Wyn grinned at Gwydion. "Hey, have a seat. I got some news for you." Mink: Wyn was at ease - she always was.' '''It made Gwydion stiffen and his eyes flickered to Amren before he took the seat that was across from Wyn.' Since the night where he was brought into the Sanguines she always put him on edge. He turned his staff in a small circle, the end resting on the floor still. He crossed an ankle over his knee beneath his robes. "I hope it's good news," he responded with a soft smile at Wyn. He could have liked her in another lifetime, but he could still feel the imprints of Jonn's nails in his skin as he clung to the man's hand under the table when his father was dangled over his head like a prize. '''Izzy: "Oh, it's not." She kept grinning. "You know that friend of yours, Raef Chastain?" Mink: Gwydion tapped the back of his teeth with the tip of his tongue. "Unfortunately." Izzy: "So, funny thing happened." She dropped her boots off the table and leaned her elbows on it instead. "He came to me, and it turns out there's this body in Alabaster he wants smoked -- one you'd be pretty fuckin' familiar with, too. Wild, right?" Mink: Gwydion's eyes narrowed, pulse speeding up.' '''He should have finished him in that hotel room after Candlenight; his moralistic highground had always been troublesome, but now it had crept into his life in a way that sickened him. "Pretty wild," he agreed, tone devoid of emotion as he watched Wyn.' His hand tightened on the staff and it turned. '''Izzy: "What d'you figure I should do about that, eh? I mean, Raef." She gave a low whistle. "Powerful guy to have on my side, should I do him a solid. And he's got an in with the mountain and forest orcs, with that boyfriend -- excuse me -- with that husband of his, and all. I'm running out of compelling reasons to keep you around, frankly." Mink: "Powerful?" Gwydion chuckled coldly.' '''Raef was a thorn in his side and he should have removed it a long time ago.' He leaned back in his chair, dragging his staff to hook the end against the curve of his boot. "You were the one who invited me in, Wyn. You tell me why you keep me around." '''Izzy: She laughed and slapped the table. "Well, as it turns out." She gave him a wink as she stood up, then slipped past Jonn's chair to go to the back wall -- running her fingers over it for a moment, then finding an edge and sliding aside a panel to reveal a hidden doorway. Stairs led down. She glanced over her shoulder before ducking in, Amren close on her heels. "C'mon. I've got something to show you." Jonn had the strangest feeling, like he knew exactly what was going to happen next. Like it had happened before. But what exactly it was eluded him, somehow. He wanted to look to Gwydion for help, or -- to find Finch, or Hansel is he was still in the city. None of those things were options, though. He followed Wyn down. Mink: That prevailing feeling of something being off flickered through Gwydion as he rose to his feet to follow Wyn.' '''His staff rested in one hand and his other hung loosely near his hip; he could feel the ingredients resting in the ouch he always carried.' That was comforting. He glanced towards the door, but he ultimately followed the three down; they could stop him if they made a run for it and, well, he preferred to be at the back with them in front than them behind him. '''Izzy: The stairs curved slightly as they led down, the incline steep, the staircase narrow. It was lit by crystal mage lights embedded in the ceiling, glowing a vaguely sickly yellow. The walls became damp as they went down. "Y'know," Wyn said after a moment of walking, "turns out -- I didn't know this -- but it turns out Skyport was built on top of some older city. An older Skyport, maybe. Who knows. I don't fuckin' care that much." She laughed. "But Helena Baron, y'know, little Jonn's old boss, the old guildmaster here, she used to smuggle goods through the undercity. It's not fuckin' safe down there, but it kept her away from the Basha, I guess. I had a different solution to that problem, of course." Her voice had an unsettling echo in the enclosed space. The stairs leveled out into floor, and a hallway -- just as cramped -- stretched out in front of them. At the end was a window that opened up into nothing but darkness, and a row of doors flanked them on either side. Asya stood by the nearest door on the right, leaning against the wall. She didn't look at them, but Jonn found himself setting down a little, seeing her. Asya was his friend. Whatever was going to happen -- she'd look out for him. "So," Wyn said, once they'd reached the bottom of the stairs. She turned sideways in the hall and waved Amren and Jonn past her, so that she could look at Gwydion without having to look over their heads. "So you remember that wand I promised you, right?" Mink: He didn't know, and he didn't care. "Interesting." It wasn't.' '''What was interesting was that the stairs wound downwards and that the stairwell was small, the walls damp and glistening in the sickly yellow light.' What was interesting was that Wyn was taking him deeper into the earth and stalling for whatever she wanted. Gwydion glanced towards Asya as the stairs ended in a tight hallway that ended in a window that revealed nothing but darkness. His eyes followed Jonn and Amren before they settled back on Wyn. His skin pricked with his unsettlement as he watched her. "Yes, I remember." He remembered, it was why he was in the guild in the first place. It wasn't why he stayed, not fully, but it was why he was there. '''Izzy: She clicked her tongue and pointed both index fingers at the door. "Here's the thing about these old tunnels and shit, though," she said. "I'm not sure if it's magic laid in by Baron or the folks who came before, but these places get, uh ... let's say real fuckin' sketchy when you bring weapons into them. Kinda flammable. It's a bad time -- lost a few good people before I found that out, actually. Hallway's safe, though." She waved a hand around them, then flipped her cloak back and unbuckled the rapier hanging from her hip, gesturing for Jonn to give up his knives, too. He did it with some hesitation, passing them down to Asya, who slipped them into her satchel. What was visible of her face was blank. "Wizard staff, there, too." Wyn snapped her fingers at Gwydion as Amren grudgingly gave Asya his drum. Mink: Gwydion held tight to his staff for a moment; it was all he had that would make it easy to cast spells and without it...He grit his teeth together and handed over the staff before he reached down into his boot to withdraw a dagger secreted there.' '''He handed this over to Asya as well, leaving himself without weapons.' It left him feeling naked and bare as he flexed the fingers of the hand he used to secure his staff. '''Izzy: Wyn patted her hips and and under her arms like she was checking to be sure she'd gotten everything, then nodded to herself, opened the door, and waved for them to follow. It was another long hallway, this one with more pitch-black windows on either side of them -- it seemed to be suspended in the air, in the middle of some void. Jonn laced his fingers between Gwydion's, in the hand he usually kept his staff in, and walked beside him. Amren stayed with Wyn, practically skipping to keep up with her strides. "Anyway," she said, "the undercity's still not a bad way to smuggle shit into Skyport. Things keep safe, down here. And that Pearlescent Wand, that's some uncommon shit -- hope you don't mind the walk to get there. I put it where Baron kept her favorite thing." At the end of the hall, she opened another door into a small room. This one had an oddly homey appearance -- warm wooden paneling installed against the walls, and paintings hung up. The ceiling had been painted to look like the sky, and there was a short, empty bookcase and a small table to one side, both dusty, and a new-looking safe to the other. An imprint in the carpet, where the safe was, now, looked like a bed had been sitting there for a long time. Wyn went to the safe and gestured over her shoulder. "Why don't you have a seat? Always takes me a hot minute to get this goddamn thing open." Mink: The hallway was disconcerting and unsteadying as they walked past the dark windows.' '''His gaze could only linger' on them briefly before moving forward. The deeper they went, the more he wanted to pull away from Jonn's hand and take steps backwards to exit this underground hell. Yet he kept walking, fingers twined with Jonn's. He followed as he had been told to, listening to Wyn's conversation with a half-heart. She led them into a small room, a room that looked like it didn't belong. He kept himself on the other side of the small room as Wyn approached the safe. "I prefer standing,," he answered with a friendly sort of smile, hiding the worry worming its way through him. This cagey, flighty feeling was new, and he didn't like it. "Thank you." '''Izzy: "Eh, suit yourself." She shrugged and knelt down to start fiddling with the safe. Then there came a soft sound of drumming, and Amren suggested, "You should sit down, and sit still." Jonn was still without being told, locked up. He didn't know how Asya was here, with Amren's drum, and Wyn's rapier, and his knives. Wyn said there'd be fire, that there was magic in the tunnels, and -- he guessed he knew that'd been a lie, just hadn't known it in time. That didn't make sense. He blinked and twitched; that feeling again, that he knew what was coming, but hadn't told himself yet, and wouldn't until it was too late. Gwydion did what Amren told him, looking oddly dreamy. That magic -- the sort Mishka had -- the same kind Diva used -- and fucking Amren -- he couldn't work out if Amren was screwing with him too or if he was just like this, frozen. Wyn glanced at him and went back to the safe. Asya pulled a length of rope out of her satchel and looped it around Gwydion, tying him to the chair, and his hands together behind it. Amren kept drumming and kept him in the trace until Wyn had unlocked the safe, and pulled out the wand: pearly white with iridescent rainbow undertones, and a silver tip. Wyn spun it carelessly in her hand, once Gwydion was aware and himself again. She grinned at him. "So close, huh? You got so fucking close to saving your dad, Gwydion." Mink: Gwydion blinked as he came to, brow furrowing as he realized he was sitting down on the chair he had declined to move to just a few moments before.' '''He didn't remember moving or the soft sound of drumming, but the fucking kobold was the only one who could do that to him. He twisted his wrists against the rope; it rubbed and chafed with each twitch, but the rope didn't give way. His eyes followed the spinning of the wand, the wand that had always been so close and yet so far.'"I suppose I was," he answered, tone cool despite the swift thrumming of his heart. He made himself focus on Wyn's grinning face. Oh, in that moment, how he hated her. "Do you mind telling me what this is about or am I here for you to get your kicks, Wyn?" '''Izzy: "What this is about," Wyn said, "is you trying to fuckin' betray me. See, I really don't like traitors. I had this feeling you'd be one, y'know?" She kept twirling the wand idly, but her grin turned vicious. "Finch and Jonn vouched for you, though, and someone made a bad call and now here you fucking are." Mink: Gwydion's eyebrows shot up in surprise, in skepticism, and finally lowered in confusion once more.' '"If you excuse me, you'll have to enlighten me on just how I've betrayed you." Izzy: "Oh. Oh, honey." She stepped in and patted his cheek. "Do you think this is the part where you cleverly talk your way into making the villain into let you go, and you get everything you wanted? Save your daddy, ride off into the sunset with Jonn, or some shit? That's adorable. Just goddamn adorable." Mink: "No, this is the part where the villain monologues and confesses as to why she has such a hard-on."' '''Jonn's name registered, but it didn't register how it should have.' There was the answer to his question, but, no, he kept that to himself for now.For now he could keep quiet. '''Izzy: She laughed. "God,'''I almost feel bad about this, because you really are an entertaining little shit, huh?" Then she pulled away, and turned towards the door. "Eh, well. Have a nice ... shit, I don't know." She paused. "Fast or slow, you think, Amren?" "Fast," he hissed, looking between her and Jonn and Gwydion and Asya nervously. "Yeah, works for me, I don't give a shit." She spun the wand one more time and slipped it inside her cloak to raise a hand over her shoulder. "Have a nice next twenty seconds or so, Gwydion." She left the room, and Amren began drumming again. "Fast," he whispered, and leaned to crane his neck out the door, checking on Wyn, and added, "Painless." Jonn looked down and saw the knife in his hand, and watched himself raise it. '''Mink: Gwydion pulled and twisted at the ropes that bound his wrists, giving Wyn a cold, dark look.' '''He could have called for her, screamed for this to end, but he could have also been frightened of the death that loomed before him.' He should have been frightened, feeling ice slide through his veins and making his heart race wildly. Instead...instead all he felt was the slender thread of his father’s life slip through his fingers, fading away with every step that Wyn took until it vanished as she left him bound to the chair and staring at the sharp metal that promised a swift end. He chuckled a little bit at Amren’s addition. Oh, there were many kinds of pain and the command couldn’t ease the tightening in his chest nor could it rid of his mind of the storm beginning to blow. “Oh, little dove,” he sighed out softly, slouching into the chair. He looked up at the ceiling briefly before he looked back to Jonn. “I suppose you should know how to help since I don’t think I will be able to.” He rolled his shoulders as best he could from his position. “There are three locks, little dove. Just follow the pattern of stars and you should be able to figure it out.” '''Izzy: Jonn wasn't sure if he could speak -- he didn't know if he was allowed to. He wondered if he'd ever tried before, how many times he'd tried. He thought about nightmares and blackouts and blood under his fingernails that he didn't recognize. Dad could help him with stars, he thought. He knew about stars. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Asya touch Amren's shoulder, and when the drumbeat changed he realized at once that he could talk -- "I'll help," spilled out of him. "I'll help, I'll help, I wanna help, I'm sorry, tell me what to do." He felt himself slip behind Gwydion, and gently move his hair aside. Mink: "Just make sure he's safe for me," Gwydion whispered, shivering as his hair was moved away, Jonn's fingertips ghosting across his skin.' '''He would miss that, if there was anywhere to miss it from.' "You know, little dove..." a soft breath of air escaped him. "...I loved you..." He closed his eyes. He would miss gentle touches, the soft whispers in the night, the promises for more, but..., he supposed, at least he got to see him one more time. '''Izzy: Exactly three people in Jonn's life had ever said that they loved him: Hansel, Luci, and Roddy. He'd said it back to all of them. He'd said it to all of them first. And he'd meant it. Really meant it. He knew what he was, but he really had fucking meant it, every time. And every time they said it back -- because he'd been so eager every time and said it first -- he wondered how much they meant it, because he watched people, and listened, and paid attention to patterns, and typically, when someone said I love you, the person they were saying it to said I love you, too. Like a carrier pigeon trained to return. It was automatic, even when he was sure, really fucking sure, that the second person didn't actually mean it. No one had ever said they loved Jonn before he'd said it to them, and Gwydion did, and Jonn watched his hand sink a knife through the base of Gwydion's skull and into his brain. There wasn't much blood. He got the sense there never was. He thought about how disappointed in him Hansel and Helena would be. He watched Gwydion's body go limp, his head falling to one side, and he realized the drumbeat had changed and he couldn't speak again, because if he could he'd be fucking screaming. He'd never know, now. If it was true. If Gwydion had just been scared, or he'd just been lying, or if he genuinely did love Jonn -- Jonn would never get to ask really? or why? or prove it. And he'd never get to play with Gwydion's hair again, or doze off next to him, feeling weirdly safe. He was so tall, and pretty, and strange, and he loved Jonn. Had. He had loved Jonn. . The drumming stopped and he dropped in place, wrapping his arms around himself. Asya was beside him, shushing him hoarsely, and then she pulled his head up and made him listen as Amren started a different song, and knelt in front of him. "You never came to the guildhall today," Amren told him. "You never saw Wyn, or me, or Asya, or Gwydion today. Everything was normal. Gwydion just went somewhere," he said, "and he didn't come back." END Title: Back Room. Summary: Morgan Wyn calls on Gwydion for the last time. Category:Text Roleplay